Steering device.



W. B. THOIVMS.

STEERING DEVICE.

APPLlcATloN FILED JUNE 30.1916.

Patented May 15, 1917.

3 SHEETS-SHEET l.

By M

/3 TTUH/I/EVS [l y (O w. B. THOMAS.

STEERING DEVICE.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 30| 1916.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

Patented May 15, 1917.

WITNESSES B. THOMAS.

STEERING DEVICE.

APPLICATION FILED IuNE 3o. ISI-6.

Patented May 15, 1917.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

//Il I/E/I/ TOR Ma/W5; fammi WIT/VESSES STEEREIZIG DEVICE.

Application filed .lune 30, 1916.

To all Iiff/"wm t may concern.'

Re it known that l, WILLIAM B. THoMAs, :i citizen of the United States, and a resident of Jacksonville, in the county of D'uvel and Stute of Florida, have invented an lmprovement in Steering Devices, of which the following,T is a specification.

My invention is an improvement in steeringl devices for motor vehicles and the in vention has 'for its object to provide n steering device', wherein the column and the controlling devices 'for the motor are adjustnhle in length, and wherein the wheel may be folded into the plane off the column, end wherein the act of folding' the Wheel into the plane of the column will collapse the column and the controlling mechanism, sind wherein the moving` of the wheel into e pla-ne transverse to the anis of the column will lock the column in adjusted position.

A further object is to provide mechanism in connection with the Wheel and the column, for permitting the Wheel to loe folded into the plane of the column and the column. collepsed, or the wheel to he moved into operative position and the column extended, oy o single movement.

in thev drawings:

Figure l isn longitudinal section of the steering device with the' column extended.

lig. 2 1s a section at right angles to Fig. l.

Fig.- 3 is an enlarged View of the top portion of Fig. 1. l

Fig. 4 is e similar View oi Fig. 2.

Fig, 5 is an enlarged View of the lov-ver portion oi Fig. 2.

Fig. 6 is a section on the line 6-6 oft Fig. 7 is e perspective vview of the guide plate and tube.

Fig. 8 is e sectional View oi a inodiiied construction.

Fig. 9 is e front view of the seine.

Fig. 'l0 is e section on the line ILO- l0 of Fig. 9, looking in the direction of the errows adjacent to the line.

Fig. 1l is a section on the line ll--il et Fig. 9, looking in the direction of the errows adjacent to the line. v

Fig. 12 is an enlarged partiel side Vietl Specification et Letters IPatent.

to slide upon the section l.

Patented M ifi, ill-L Serial No. 106,862.

In the present embodiment oit the invention, the steeringr column is sectional, con- Sistine of n lower solid cylindrical. inner section l, ond an upper chnmbered or shell like outer section 2, the section 2 boing mounted The section l of the column is provided :it its upper or front surface with n. longitudinally extend ing series of upwardly 'facing intchet teeth, und n ratchet lever is journuled on the outer section for cooperating with. the teeth.

This lever 4 is un elbow lever, pivoted to the outer casing us indicated nt at n. slot 6 extendinglongitudinally oit the shell, and one portion ot' the lei'cr extends through the slot and has teeth for engaging' the teeth rlhe other portion oif the lever extends outwardly at an acute angle to the lirstnamed portion, :ind one end of n link 'i' pivoted to the seid portion.

rlhe upper end ot the section 2 is mode solid, h v the insertion of :i plug' 5l, :1nd the seid plug is polygonal in cross. section, ns shown in Fig. (i, und fits :i similarly shaped hore or recess in the section Q, in order that the plug may not turn in the section. That portion of the plug; 'which entends beyond the end of the section is lizittened or cut away at opposite sides, to form n hearing lug 9, und the huh 10 ot the steering wheel 1l has o. pair of laterally spaced axially extendingtloearing lugs l2 which engage opposite sides of the lug 9, und a holt and nut 13 is provided `tor connecting the lugs 9 and l2. The wheel Yl1 is thus pivoted to the outer section of the column to swinginto o. plane parallel with the anis of the column, or into e plone perpendicular to the said exis,` und latch mechanism is provided for locking the wheel in either position.

The scid mechanism comprises a latch pin it mounted to move in an opening at the exis of the wheel, and the latch pin is pivoted to one endot the latch lo i5 with a lost motion connection, as shown in Figs. Ll and The ler-ev i is pivoted between hearing legs lo on one of the spokes of the Wheel, end the. opposite end of the lever extends to neer th riin of the Wheel et the reni or loi-ver portion thereoit. it. spring 17 gia-1 is arranged between the outer end of the lever and the spoke for normally holding the pin in engaged position, and the pin is adapted to coperate with openings 18 in the rounded upper end of the lug 9, the said lug serving as a latch bar for the latch pin. The wheel 11 is provided at the opposite side from the latch lever 15 with a lug 1S)a extending longitudinally of the wheel, and the end of the link 7 remote from the elbow lever is pivoted to the lug 19,

ln operation, the latch pin 14 normally holds the wheel in the full line position, of Fig. 1, and when the wheel is in this position, and in a plane transverse to the'axis of the steering column, the link 7 holds the ratchet lever l in firm engagement with the teeth 3, to prevent movement of the wheel forwardly and downwardly. When in this position, the steering column may be turned, because the section 2 of the steering column must turn with the wheel, and the inner section 1 must turn with the outer section 2.

Vihen desired, however, the wheel may be turned into the dotted line position of Fig.'

1, by releasing the latch pin, and turning the wheel into this position. This movement of the wheel makes upward traction on the link 7, releasing the ratchet lever 4- from the teeth 3, and the outer section 2 may be moved downward, sliding' on the inner section, to lower the wheel.

W ith the improved steering mechanism, the wheel may be arranged at either side of the car without hindering ythe ingress or egress, for by collapsing the wheel and the steering column, it is moved out of the way of any one when leaving the car. To extend the wheel it is only necessary to grasp the lower portion thereof and pull upward. This movement swings the wheel into operative position, and ext/ends the steering column, the ratchet lever slipping idly over the teeth.

The lever, however, prevents downward movement of the sections with respect to each other, while permitting i'ree upward movement. With this form of steering wheel, the wheel maybe arrangedy at the right of the vehicle as advantageously as at the left. ln case of accident the driver is not hemmed in his seat by a fixed wheel, since with a single movement he collapse the wheel and the steering column, leaving him ample room for escape.

ln the usual construction ot automobiles, the controlling devices tor the motor are supported hy the wheel, namely the spark control and the throttle lever. rl`hese devices are controlled by arms 19 and 2G tending radially from sectional shafts which are ,-unted at opposite sides oit the column, ai 'e supported thereby., are movable therewith. Each arm l@ and 2O reseau is connected to the upper reduced end 21 of the hollow or chambered outer section 22 of a shaft, consisting of the said section 22 'and a solid'inner section 23, which is mounted to slide in the outer section.

Referring to Fig. 6 it will be noticed that the" outer sections 22 of the sectional shafts have a polygonal bore or recess, and the solid lower sections 23 are shaped to fit within these recesses, the said sections being polygonal in cross section. Thus while the sections 22 and 23 of each control shaft must rotate together, they can move longitudinally with respect to each other without interferin with the control.

Each o the outer sections 22 of the control shafts is mounted in a tubular casing 2d, and the said casings 24.- are held between yokes 25 and 2G at the opposite ends of the said casings. rThe yoke 25 connects the sections 22 at their upper ends as shown more particularly in Fig. 4', and this yoke is journaled on the outer section 2 of the steering column near the upperl end of the said column. The upper ends of the casings 2l are threaded into roamed counterbored openings, in the yoke, and the reduced portions 21 of the sections 22 of the control shafts pass through the openings.

Each reduced portion is encircled by a spring 27, which is arranged between the handle 19 or 20, as the case may be, and the yoke. The yoke 26 which connects the lower ends of the casings 24 has a central opening, through which the lower end of the section 2 of the steering column is passed,

thek section 1 extending' through the said opening. The section 1 has a rigid collar 33 above the yoke, and a nut Sel 'is threaded onto the section below the yoke. Since both yokes 25 and 26 and both casings 24: are supported by the outer section 2 of the steering column, and movable therewith, it is obvious that the control shafts will collapse with the steering column. At the point where the steering column asses through the foot board 28 of the vehicle, a guide is arranged, the said guide heilig secured to the foot board. This guide is sectional, consisting of an inner section and an outer section, each of which is danged, asindicated at 29, to engage the foot boardQand the anges are connected to the foot board by means of holts and nuts 30. Each guide provides tubular memhers 31 and 32 'for the section 2 oi the steering column and the tubular casings 24, respectively, and the said column section and casings are slidahle in the guide sec tions. v

The holding mechanism for the steering column sections is also the holding mechanism for the control shafts, and when this mechanism is released, there is nothing to preventth-e immediate collapse of the con Lese,

trol shafts. ln case of accident to the vehicle, a simple pressure on the lever l to release the latch pin 14: is all that is necessary to Vcollapse the wheel and column. The

lwheel immediately moves into the dotted The provision of the collar 33 and the nut 34 permits the steering column to rotate with respect to the yokes, in order to permit the CIK steering of the vehicle.

ln the embodiment of the invention shown in Figs. 8 tol2 the inner section 35 of the steering column, which is slidable 'in the outer section 36, has teeth, which are adapted to be engaged by a toothed latch member 37. This latch member is mounted on inclined parallel guide lugs 38, which are so arranged that when the latch member is moved toward the steering wheel 39 it will be lifted out of engagement with theteeth,

while when it is moved in the opposite direction it will be moved into engagement with the teeth. The wheel 39 has spaced lugs 40, which lit on opposite sides of a lug ll. on the outer section or the steering,u column, and are pivoted thereto. Links 42 connect the latch bar 3'? with the lugs, the connection oi the links being eccentric, in order that when the wheel is turned on its pivotal connectionthe latch bar will be moved. rlihis lug Ll0 has the notches for engagement by` the latch pin il- 3, which is operated by the lever el in the same manner asin the construction shown in Figs. l to i', and the steering column is mounted. in the same manner.

l't will be understood that the present form o' latch mechanism may be used in the construction shown in Fig. l, and since the control shafts and their mounting is the same, said shafts and mounting are not shown in the embodiment-oi Figs. 8 to 12.

l claim:

l. A steering deviceor motor vehicles, comprising a steering column composed of telcscoping sections, and a wheel -ifvoted to the uppermost section to swing into planes transverse to the axis of the column or parallel therewith, releasable latch mechanism for holding the'wheel in either position, means for preventing downward movement of theupper section with respect to the lower section and controlled by the movement of the wheel into a plane transverse'to the column, to lock the sections from downward movement and to release the said sections when the wheel is moved into a plane parallel with the axis of the column.

:2. A steering device for motor vehicles, comprising a steering column composed of telcscoping sections, and a wheel pivoted to the uppermost section to swing into planes transverse "to the parallel therewith, releasable latch mechanism for holding the wheel in either position, means for preventing downward movement of the upper section. with respect to the lower section and controlled by the swinging movement of the uf'heel.

3. A steering device for motor vehicles, comprising a steering column composed of telcscoping sections, and a wheel pivoted to the uppermost section to swing into planes transverse to the axis of the column or parallel therewith, and means .for preventing downwardmovement of the upper section with respect to the lower section and controlled by the swinging movement or" the wheel.

Il. A steering device for motor vehicles,

`comprising1 a collapsible steering column,

and a Wheel pivoted to the top ol' the column to swing into transverse planes to the axis of the column or parallel therewith, means for preventing the collapsing of the column and controlled by the swinging of the wheel, and collapsible control shafts supported by the column and movable therewith.

5. A steering device for motor vehicles, comprising a collapsible steering column, and a wheel pivoted to the top of the column to swing into planes transverse to the anis of' the column or parallel therewith, means for preventing the collapsing of the column and controlled by the swinging of the wheel.

6. A steering device for motor vehicles, comprising a collapsible steering column, and a wheel pivoted to the top ci? the column to swing into planes tansverse to the'axis of the column or parallel therewith, and means controlled by the swingingof the wheel for collapsing the column.

"t". A. steering device for motor vehicles comprising a collapsible steering column, a wheel pivotecl to the top 'oit' the column to swing into planes transverse to the anis oi' the column or parallel therewith, means concollapsing the column and collapsible control shafts supported by the column and movable therewith.

8. A steering device for motorvehicles, comprising a collapsible steering column, a wheel pivoted to the column, means for restraining the collapsing of the column and connected to the wheel to be released when the wheel is swung in a predetermined direction.

9. A steering device for motor vehicles comprising a collapsible steering column, pawl. and ratchet mechanism for holding the column in adjusted position, and arranged to permit the column to be extended freely to prevent the collapse thereoa` steering wheel pivoted to the column, and a connection between thc said wheel andk the pawl and airis of the column or lll() ratchet mechanism for releasing the sume when the Wheel is swung in a predetermined direction.

10. 1n :i steerinqf device for motor Vehicles, the combination with a steering column, of a. wheel pivoted to the top thereof and adapted to swing into planes transverse to the axis of the column and parallel therewith, a latch mechanism for lo holding the wheel in the first named position, said column being collapsible and haring means for holding the same extended und connected with the wheel to he released when the wheel is 'turned into parallelism with the column.

ll. A steering device for motor Vehicles comprising a collapsible steering column7 and a wheel pivoted to the column and controllingl the collapsing of the column.

VVILLLLM BAILEY THOMAS. 

